Podcast
Party Politics
A political podcast from two smart guys providing you with up-to-date policy and politics for your next cocktail party.
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Podcast
Fire Triangle
In the past two years, half a dozen chemical disasters have ripped apart Texas neighborhoods, sent dozens of people to the hospital and killed unsuspecting bystanders as well as workers. Texas Public Radio and Houston Public Media spent the better part of 2020 investigating these events to answer the question: why do so many chemical disasters keep happening in Texas, and what—if anything—is being done to prevent more?
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Podcast
Houston Matters
Podcast
Houston Public Media Local Newscasts
Local newscasts from Houston Public Media, updated during drive times.
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Podcast
Next Question with Ernie Manouse
Houston
Pat Mann Phillips makes Houston rodeo history as first woman elected to lead board of directors
Posted on · Mann Phillips, 63, a longtime volunteer at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, was recently picked by her peers to serve a three-year term as chair of the board.
Local
NRG Park kicks off new sustainability initiative with park upgrades, expected to save $54 million
Posted on · The new initiative is part of Harris County’s Climate Action Plan to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
Politics
Abbott taps John Scott, former Texas secretary of state, as interim attorney general
Posted on · Scott, a former deputy attorney general, will run the agency because Ken Paxton has been suspended from office until his impeachment trial before the Texas Senate.
Politics
Sean Teare, longtime assistant to Harris County DA Kim Ogg, challenging former boss in Democratic primary
Posted on · Teare, 43, joined Ogg's staff when she first was elected in 2016 but now says the DA's office is "broken" and needs fixing.
Energy & Environment
ERCOT unveils new dashboard to provide transparency on power grid operations
Posted on · The Texas Advisory and Notification System will provide information on grid operations while serving as a hub to inform the public of potential energy conservation notices.
News
SpaceX mission returns from space station with ex-NASA astronaut, 3 paying customers
Posted on · The return caps a nine-day mission to the International Space Station. The mission was funded by Axiom Space, a company that wants to build and operate the world's first commercial space station.
Houston Matters
Special session maneuvering: political roundup for Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Posted on · The Texas House passes what Governor Abbott wants, then promptly adjourns. Where does this leave the Texas Senate?
Local
Superintendent Millard House II says bye to Houston schools ahead of TEA takeover
Posted on · The leader of the largest school district in Texas has been widely praised for academic gains during his two-year tenure. His administration didn’t completely dodge controversy, though.
Politics
Abbott backs Phelan’s property tax cut plan, spurring ire from Patrick
Posted on · The House passed a bill without Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s preferred increase to homestead exemptions — then abruptly adjourned for the special session. That basically tells the Senate to take the House bill Gov. Greg Abbott backs or leave it.
Education
TEA takes over Houston schools this week. The district has to do these three things to regain local control
Posted on · With the takeover coming in a matter of days, questions are swirling about who will lead the state’s largest district — and whether or not they’re prepared. Houston Public Media obtained audio of a two-day training for leadership candidates.
Houston Matters
Texas Legislature goes into overtime (May 31, 2023)
Posted on · On Wednesday's show: We discuss what lies ahead in special sessions of the Texas Legislature in the coming months and what to expect from the Texas Senate’s impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton in our weekly political roundup.
Town Square
Ask the Doctor: Ozempic & Wegovy for Weight Loss, the Latest on COVID, a Possible Summer Mpox Resurgence, and More
Posted on · Medical experts weigh in on current medical news and what we should know as we head into summer.
Public Safety
Houston police increasing presence along Columbia Tap Trail after string of violent attacks against cyclists
Posted on · Security features such as increased lighting, surveillance cameras and call boxes also are coming to the part of the trail in the Third Ward area, according to Houston City Council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz.
Guns
Houston and Harris County to host fourth gun buyback event
Posted on · Officials said 2,800 unwanted firearms have been collected so far from the first three events.
Harris County
Harris County receives $1.4 million in federal funding to address Black maternal mortality rates
Posted on · Texas has a rate higher than the country’s average, and Harris County’s average is even higher than the state’s overall.
Criminal Justice
Texas’ juvenile justice system provides an ‘unsafe environment’ for detained children, report says
Posted on · The report found that despite most children having "clear mental health needs," the Texas Juvenile Justice Department lacks enough resources and staff to "provide proper treatment" for children who are in custody.
Criminal Justice
Elizabeth Holmes starts her 11-year prison sentence today. Here’s what to know
Posted on · The onetime Silicon Valley star is expected to surrender herself to federal authorities at the Bryan, Texas, prison camp, an all-female facility about 100 miles outside of Houston.
Health & Science
‘We had no way of verifying it’: Houston residents install their own air monitors to hold polluters accountable
Posted on · To get their own data on what they’re breathing, community groups have been installing air monitors over the past several years, building out a vast network across the region.
Houston Matters
Will Houston ever see a dime of the billions Congress authorized for flood mitigation after Harvey?
Posted on · It's been six years since Harvey. Four years since Congress approved the money. What gives?
Houston Matters
Turning grief into activism: Frontline documentary profiles Uvalde families
Posted on · Longtime public media reporter Maria Hinojosa tells us more about "After Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politics."